I’m seeing a lot of this little bird this Spring and enjoy hearing it’s distinctive song, a harsh, emphatic “fee-bee”. I was happy to capture this one while perched on a branch and I see that he/she is getting materials for nesting. I look forward to seeing the whole family enjoying the fruits of our yard and woods for later this summer. Be sure and come back next year!

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This beautiful Columbine was given to us from our neighbor and fits right into our wild backyard sanctuary. It is sometimes mistaken for Honeysuckle because when biting off it’s long spurs you can suck out the nectar. It’s a favorite for hummingbirds and long-tongued moths. I love the coloring of this plant and I’ll look forward to it coming back many springs in the future.

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The Warblers aren’t here in abundance yet, but I’ve been enjoying some of the other birds coming into our yard. Yesterday this Song Sparrow spent quite a bit of time in and around our pond. Such a pretty sparrow and I’m glad I was able to get some photos of him. It’s always fun and exciting to see what new birds fly into our backyard.

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Here is the female White-winged Crossbill that was sitting on the other side of the birdbath, while her mate was enjoying some water from the other side. I get so focused through my view finder that I didn’t realize both of these birds were sitting there, but not together. When I realized this the female flew off. She seems to be a real rainbow of colors, but I thought her quite colorful and somewhat bold like the male. I hope they do make another visit to our yard this year, but I know they are wanderers.

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It’s always very exciting to see a new bird come to our backyard. I was hoping to catch this bird and his mate together, but it was not to be and I’ve not seen them since. I’ve found out that the White-winged Crossbill is a bird that is highly irregular in it’s wanderings, but it’s regular habitat is mainly in Canada and North of there, but they go where there is a large pine cone crop as that is what they feed on. If you look closely you can see that his bill is definitely crossed. I’ll show the female the next time I post.

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Our Red-bellied Woodpecker has found the love of his life, or at least for this season. I’m not sure if these birds mate for life, but I’m glad he’s found someone to mate with after all the hard work he’s done on his nesting cavity. He is still going at it strongly each day and before long I hope they have a nest that they can raise their babies in.

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This time of year it’s fun to watch the interactions of the pairs of birds who are settling down to start a family. This House Finch pair is no different. I usually see the cardinals feeding each other, but I’ve not witnessed a display like this from another pair. Very sweet I think and so happy I was able to capture this. We have a pair of finches nesting again right outside by our front door. They will be fun to watch and we’ll also have to watch ourselves and remember they will be flying right by our heads once in awhile when we enter and exit. Again, love is in the air!

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I’m afraid this isn’t the best photo capture, but this Yellow-rumped Warbler has been staying high in the tree tops, but I was able to quickly catch him when he came down by the birdbath. Last year, these warblers were easy to photograph as they were down in the pond and birdbath quite a bit. Maybe since it’s still early, they are a little hesitant. Well, clear or not, I couldn’t help but post this little guy. I really have been enjoying my retirement now that I can be outside each day to see what flies into the yard next.

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This Red-bellied Woodpecker has been working extremely hard getting a nest hole ready for this years home. He picked a dead limb on an old Hickory tree in our neighbors yard. It has been fun to watch and also a little tiring as he would be at it hours on end. I wonder if he ever ended up with a headache after all that drilling. He would, once in awhile, take a break and lay low on the top part of the limb. We had a Coopers Hawk flying low over the yard 3 times that day and I was sure hoping during one of this guys “rest periods” wouldn’t get picked off by the hawk. He was lucky and hopefully will find a female who will like his construction work.

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Another beautiful tree in the UW Arboretum. They have so many different varieties of Crabapple trees and colors. Shown here is a wonderful shade of pink. Again, I encourage those who live close by to go and enjoy the beauty of the Arboretum right now before all of these blossoms are done blooming.